Deuteronomy 18:10
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This verse doesn't just list forbidden practices; it lays out a spectrum of ways people sought knowledge or power outside of God. From the horrific child sacrifice to more subtle practices like fortune-telling or interpreting omens, all are condemned as "abominations" because they bypass God's direct guidance and relationship with His people.
There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
English Standard Version (ESV)
As God's people are about to enter the Promised Land, Moses warns them against adopting the wicked practices of the nations already living there, listing various forms of occultism and child sacrifice. He emphasizes that these abominations are the very reason God is dispossessing the Canaanites and that Israel must remain distinct and pure in their worship. This command sets the stage for defining the religious and moral boundaries for the new nation.
The verse begins with a stark warning against the most horrific practice imaginable: child sacrifice. What does this tell us about God's heart and the nations Israel was to displace?
Deuteronomy 18:10 opens with a clear prohibition: "There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering." This practice, most notably associated with the worship of the Canaanite deity Moloch, involved either passing children through fire as a form of purification or, even more brutally, sacrificing them as burnt offerings.
This command highlights several crucial points:
Beyond outright sacrifice, the verse lists various forms of seeking forbidden knowledge. Why was consulting the future through these means so dangerous for God's people?
Ask a follow-up
The latter half of Deuteronomy 18:10 enumerates several practices related to divination and sorcery:
Why were these forbidden? Calvin points out that while humans have a natural desire for knowledge, these practices represent two critical errors: an immoderate desire to know more than is lawful, and recourse to illicit means to gain that knowledge. Instead of trusting God's provision and wisdom, these practices sought shortcuts through the devil's deceptive power. They were a way of bypassing God and seeking answers from a source that ultimately leads to destruction, not guidance. God intended for His people to rely on Him through His prophets and His Word, not on manipulative spiritual practices.
Understand the original words
qesem · Hebrew Noun
The act of attempting to obtain secret knowledge or divine guidance through supernatural or occult means, forbidden by God because it seeks knowledge apart from His revealed word and providence.
kashaph · Hebrew Verb/Noun
One who engages in occult arts, spells, or witchcraft to influence events or gain forbidden power, acting in direct rebellion against God's sovereign control.
This passage directly prohibits passing children through fire to Molech, the same abhorrent practice mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:10, highlighting the severe consequences of such idolatry.
Jeremiah 7:31Jeremiah condemns the practice of building high places for Topheth where people 'burn their sons and their daughters in the fire,' directly echoing the prohibition in Deuteronomy and showing this was a persistent societal evil.
1 Samuel 28:7This passage describes Saul seeking out a medium (a 'witch' or 'spiritist') to consult the spirit of Samuel, illustrating the very type of forbidden communication with the spiritual realm that Deuteronomy 18 warns against.
Acts 16:16-18Here, Paul casts out a spirit of 'divination' from a slave girl, demonstrating the reality of occult practices and the power of God's authority over them, which aligns with the prohibitions in Deuteronomy.
Galatians 5:19-21Paul lists 'sorcery' among the works of the flesh, which directly corresponds to the various forms of divination and enchantment condemned in Deuteronomy 18, showing these practices are contrary to a life lived in the Spirit.
gillDeuteronomy 18:10: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,"
There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire,.... To Moloch, which was a sort of lustration by fire, two fires being made, and the child led by a priest between them, and which was an initiation of him into the religion of that deity,…
pooleDeuteronomy 18:10: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,"
To pass through the fire; either by a superstitious lustration or purgation, or by a cruel sacrificing of them. See Leviticus 18:21 2 Kings 17:31 23:10 2 Chronicles 28:3 Psalm 106:37 Jeremiah 7:31 19:5 Ezekiel 16:20,21 Eze 23:37-39 . That useth divination, i.e. foretelleth things secret or to…
This verse doesn't just list forbidden practices; it lays out a spectrum of ways people sought knowledge or power outside of God. From the horrific child sacrifice to more subtle practices like fortune-telling or interpreting omens, all are condemned as "abominations" because they bypass God's direct guidance and relationship with His people.
As God's people are about to enter the Promised Land, Moses warns them against adopting the wicked practices of the nations already living there, listing various forms of occultism and child sacrifice. He emphasizes that these abominations are the very reason God is dispossessing the Canaanites and that Israel must remain distinct and pure in their worship. This command sets the stage for defining the religious and moral boundaries for the new nation.
As God's people are about to enter the Promised Land, Moses warns them against adopting the wicked practices of the nations already living there, listing various forms of occultism and child sacrifice. He emphasizes that these abominations are the very reason God is dispossessing the Canaanites and that Israel must remain distinct and pure in their worship. This command sets the stage for defining the religious and moral boundaries for the new nation.
"There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer" — This verse doesn't just list forbidden practices; it lays out a spectrum of ways people sought knowledge or power outside of God. From the horrific child sacrifice to more subtle practices like fortu…
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Last reviewed October 2026
